Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Disinclined to exert oneself; habitually lazy. synonym: lazy.
- adjective Conducive to inactivity or laziness; lethargic.
- adjective Causing little or no pain.
- adjective Slow to heal, grow, or develop; inactive.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In medicine, causing little or no pain: as, an indolent tumor.
- Avoiding, or characterized by the avoidance of, exertion; indulging or given to indulgence in ease; indisposed to labor; lazy; listless; sluggish: as, an indolent person or life.
- Synonyms Lazy, Slothful, etc. (see
idle ); Supine, Careless, etc. (seelistless ).
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective obsolete Free from toil, pain, or trouble.
- adjective Indulging in ease; avoiding labor and exertion; habitually idle; lazy; inactive.
- adjective (Med.) Causing little or no pain or annoyance.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Habitually lazy ,procrastinating , or resistant to physical labor/labour. - adjective
Inducing laziness (e.g. indolent comfort). - adjective medicine Causing
scant or no physical pain; progressing slowly; inactive (of anulcer , etc.). - adjective medicine Healing slowly.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective (of tumors, e.g.) slow to heal or develop and usually painless
- adjective disinclined to work or exertion
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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His eyes were sleepy, his expression indolent or good-natured.
Elizabeth's Campaign Humphry Ward 1885
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Our committing of ourselves to God is to be, not in indolent and passive quietism, but accompanied with active well-doings. faithful -- to His covenant promises.
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Mutual good humour is a dress we ought to appear in wherever we meet, and we should make no mention of what concerns ourselves, without it be of matters wherein our friends ought to rejoice: but indeed there are crowds of people who put themselves in no method of pleasing themselves or others; such are those whom we usually call indolent persons.
The Young Gentleman and Lady's Monitor, and English Teacher's Assistant John Hamilton Moore 1772
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Mutual good humour is a Dress we ought to appear in whenever we meet, and we should make no mention of what concerns our selves, without it be of Matters wherein our Friends ought to rejoyce: But indeed there are Crowds of People who put themselves in no Method of pleasing themselves or others; such are those whom we usually call indolent Persons.
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But indeed there are Crowds of People who put themselves in no Method of pleasing themselves or others; such are those whom we usually call indolent Persons.
The Spectator, Volume 1 Eighteenth-Century Periodical Essays Joseph Addison 1695
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Critics say the test has a significant rate of false positives—apparent detection of cancer that isn't confirmed with further tests—or that it identifies so-called indolent tumors that are ultimately of little health consequence.
Panel Faults Widely Used Prostate-Cancer Test Jennifer Corbett Dooren 2011
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Let no one say that laptops have not changed the way writers work: right now, I am sitting in an internet café facing the Pacific Ocean, watching indigo fog roll across a 180 degree view of what Wallace Stevens would have called indolent ocean.
Author! Author! » Blog Archive » Book marketing 101: the post-conference query 2007
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Let no one say that laptops have not changed the way writers work: right now, I am sitting in an internet café facing the Pacific Ocean, watching indigo fog roll across a 180 degree view of what Wallace Stevens would have called indolent ocean.
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She is described as indolent and sensual, and she once declared that the chief good in the world was love.
Famous Affinities of History — Complete Lyndon Orr
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She is described as indolent and sensual, and she once declared that the chief good in the world was love.
Famous Affinities of History — Volume 1 Lyndon Orr
oroboros commented on the word indolent
InDoLEnt
April 24, 2008